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    » Home » Recipes » Fermented Drinks » Ginger Bug

    Ginger Bug

    Posted: May 24, 2019 · Updated: May 26, 2020 by Jenny McGruther · This site earns income from ads, affiliate links, and sponsorships.

    pinterest pin ginger bug

    A ginger bug is a wild-fermented starter culture made with sugar, ginger, and water. It takes about a little less than a week of daily diligence to make one, and you can use it to make probiotic, naturally bubbly soft drinks, sodas, herbal beers, and tonics.

    Jump to Recipe | What is it? | Brewing Tips

    Chunks of fresh ginger sit in a glass of ginger bug on a marble tray with a gold spoon.

    What is ginger bug?

    Ginger bug is a slurry of fresh ginger, sugar, and water that has been allowed to ferment until bubbly and foamy. Brewers use the bug to brew fermented drinks and drinks like root beer, ginger beer, or probiotic lemonade.

    Like sourdough starter, ginger bug is a starter culture that is rich in wild bacteria and yeast. These starters kickstart the fermentation process for other fermented foods.

    Sourdough starters provide the bacteria and yeast to make bread. Kombucha mothers make kombucha tea. And ginger bugs make homemade, naturally fermented sodas.

    How does it work?

    When you mix ginger and sugar together with water and let it sit, the wild bacteria and native yeasts in your kitchen and on the ginger itself begin to proliferate and grow. These wild microorganisms eat the sugar in your bug and produce carbon dioxide as a result.

    When mixed with sweetened herbal tea, fruit juice, or another base, the microorganisms in the ginger bug consume the sugar in the tea or juice. As they do, they reproduce and emit carbon dioxide that gives homemade soft drinks their bubbles.

    What Are The Benefits of Ginger Bug

    Since ginger bugs are fermented foods, they're naturally rich in probiotics, namely lactobacillus bacteria, and wild yeasts. These organisms help to support metabolic and digestive health as well as the immune system.

    Ginger is a wildly popular culinary herb, and it also has medicinal properties. Herbalists use ginger to support blood sugar regulation, ease nausea, and support digestion (3). And ginger shows promise in easing morning sickness (4) and migraine (5).

    So while brews made with ginger bug are still treats, they're far better for you than regular soda.

    Ginger Bug vs Ginger Beer Plant

    Don't confuse ginger bug and ginger beer plant. While they're both rich in probiotics and used to make natural sodas, they're two different things.

    Ginger bugs are wild-fermented starter cultures that rely on the native yeast and bacteria of your kitchen to become bubbly.

    By contrast, ginger beer plants are a SCOBY (symbiotic culture of bacteria and yeast) very similar to water kefir and made primarily of the yeast Saccharomyces pyriformis and bacteria like Brevibacterium vermiforme (1). That SCOBY produces tiny, gelatinous crystals that you feed sugar water, lemon, and ginger.

    You can make a ginger bug at home, but you must purchase a ginger beer plant. Or, at the very least, know someone who brews it.

    Brewing Tips

    • Dice the ginger instead of grating it. While many recipes call for grated ginger, cubed or diced ginger works just as well and it's easier to strain, too.
    • Use sugar or another caloric sweetener. The yeast and bacteria that make your bug bubble need sugar to help them grow. Sugar is the most common choice, but you can also use honey, maple syrup, palm sugar, or any other caloric sweetener. Avoid non-caloric sweeteners like stevia.
    • Turmeric and galangal work well too. You can substitute both fresh turmeric and fresh galangal in place of the ginger, for variety. Or use a combination.
    • Use organic ginger. Conventionally grown ginger is often irradiated, which may impact its ability to form a thriving bug (2). Irradiation is disallowed in organic production, so organic ginger works best.
    • Use chlorine-free water. Chlorine in tap water can interfere with bacterial and yeast production, so choose filtered water or spring water.
    • Seal your jar tightly for the best yeast production. While it may seem counter-intuitive since other fermented drinks, like kombucha, often use an open container, your ginger bug does best in a sealed container like a clamp-top jar.

    How to Make Ginger Bug

    Making a ginger bug is simple. You'll need organic, unpeeled fresh ginger, sugar or another caloric sweetener, and water. It takes about 5 to 7 days to make a ginger bug and may take less time in warm climates and less in cool climates.

    On the first day, you'll mix water with sugar and ginger and allow it to culture in a sealed jar for 24 hours. Then, every day for 4 to 6 days afterward, you'll need to add a small amount of fresh ginger and sugar to the bug.

    If your ginger bug begins to foam and bubble or if it smells yeasty like bread or beer, it's ready to use. And you can use it right away or transfer it to a fridge for up to 1 week.

    Rate this Recipe
    5 from 14 votes
    8 servings (1 pint)

    Ginger Bug Recipe

    Ginger bug, a slurry of fermented ginger and sugar, forms the basis for homemade, traditionally fermented sodas including root beer, ginger beer, herbal tonics and fruit sodas. These soft drinks and light beers are naturally bubbly and effervescent and very rich in probiotics.
    Prep Time10 minutes mins
    Cook Time6 days d
    Total Time6 days d 10 minutes mins
    Print Save RecipeSaved! Click to Remove Ads

    Ingredients

    To Start the Bug

    • 2 cups water
    • 2 teaspoons sugar
    • 1 ounce fresh ginger diced

    To Feed the Bug

    • 5 teaspoons sugar
    • 2 ½ ounces fresh ginger diced

    To Use the Bug

    • 8 cups fruit juice or sweetened herbal tea

    Instructions

    Preparing the Bug

    • Warm the water in a saucepan over medium heat, and stir in the sugar until it dissolves fully. Cool the sugar water to room temperature.
    • Drop the ginger into a pint-sized jar, and then cover it with the sugar water. Seal the jar, and let it culture at room temperature for one day.

    Feeding the Bug

    • The next day, and each day for 5 days, stir 1 teaspoon sugar and ½ ounce ginger into the jar, and then close the jar tightly. Between 3 and 5 days, you should start to see bubbles forming, and your bug should smell yeasty and gingery. When you see bubbles, your bug is ready to use.

    Using the Bug

    • To use the bug, strain ½ cup of the liquid and mix it with 7 ½ cups liquid such as fruit juice or sweetened herbal tea, bottle and ferment up to 3 days.
    Rate this recipe!If you loved this recipe, give it a rating. Let us know what works, what didn't and whether you made any adjustments that can help other cooks.

    How to Use Ginger Bug

    To make soda from your ginger bug, strain about ½ cup liquid from your jar and stir it into 7 ½ cups of sweetened herbal tea or fruit juice. Pour the tea or juice into flip-top bottles.

    Remember to leave ½ to 1-inch head space. And then let your homemade soda culture at room temperature for up to 3 days. Then, transfer the bottles to the fridge and enjoy them within a few months.

    It's important to use fruit juice or sweetened herbal tea when you make homemade, naturally fermented sodas. The bacteria and yeast in your bug thrive on sugar. Without it, your soda and beers won't ferment properly.


    Try your ginger bug in these recipes:

    • bottles of real root beer
      Homemade Root Beer
    • cups of honey lemon drink
      Naturally Fermented, Probiotic Honey Lemonade Soda
    • three glasses and a bottle containing raspberry soda and ice
      Raspberry Soda
    • homemade tepache in a glass with ice and star anise
      Tepache de Piña

    References

    1. Wright, John. (2011) How to Make Real Ginger Beer. The Guardian.
    2. Katz, Sandor. (2012) The Art of Fermentation. Chelsea Green Publishing.
    3. Fleming, T. (ed) (2000) The Physician's Desk Reference for Herbal Medicine. Medical Economics Company.
    4. Smith, C., Crowther, C., Wilson, K., Hotham, N., McMillian, V. (2004, Apr) A randomized controlled trial of ginger to treat nausea and vomiting in pregnancy. Obstetrics and Gynecology, 103(4), 639-645.
    5. Maghbooli, M., Golipour, F., Edfandabadi, A.M., Yousefi, M. (2013, May 9) Comparison Between the Efficacy of Ginger and Sumatriptan in the Ablative Treatment of the Common Migraine. Phytotherapy Research, 8(3), 412-415.

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    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Kate says

      October 01, 2022 at 10:17 pm

      5 stars
      Thank you for the recipe. My ginger bug is coming along nicely, but I have 2 questions. First, this recipe says to use a lid and close the jar tightly while other instructions say to use a breathable fabric. Will please explain the difference in methods? Secondly, after straining a 1/2 cup to use, the volume reduces. Are we supposed to add more water at some point? Thank you so much.

      Reply
    2. Neha says

      February 26, 2022 at 12:48 pm

      5 stars
      Hi! I followed another recipe for ginger bug and it didn't seem to work. But this one did.

      Reply
    3. Mariel says

      January 27, 2021 at 5:22 am

      5 stars
      So fun, thank you for this recipe! Is it possible to keep your ginger bug alive after taking a 1/2 cup from it to use?

      Reply
      • Sonuahua Compton says

        June 25, 2021 at 4:04 pm

        5 stars
        your ginger root can be perpetual if you keep feeding it. Feed daily if you keep it out on the counter or weekly if you keep it in the fridge.

    4. John says

      December 11, 2020 at 2:10 pm

      5 stars
      I made something quite similar by accident with horseradish root.

      I had a few mason jars with horseradish cuttings that I was trying to get to grow a bit before planting them in soil. One of the jars the horseradish grew feeler roots and was ready to transplant to soil, the other jar the water was a tinged color and when I picked up the jar bubble rapidly rose to the surface like a glass of seltzer.

      I don't think I'll drink it but it was funny to see and as the bubbles popped the whole kitchen smelled of horseradish.

      Reply
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